100 ONCE IS

100 Onces Is is the debut album by the duo 100 Onces. The duo is made up of just Barrett Tuttobene on guitars and Richard Ray on drums. Although that sounds like a sparse arrangement of instruments, the music by this duo is by no means sparse in any sense of the word. Their music is highly energetic and full of sound. Although labeled as math rock, a genre of which I'm not really familiar with, there are moments where the music approaches the complexity of a Robert Fripp (think 1980s King Crimson), moments where it matches the intensity and metallic side of Alex Lifeson (think early Rush), and other times more modern prog metal (think Tool as an example), and even a bit of jazz rock.

Although I found this an interesting listen, it isn't really my cup of tea. I found a lot of the guitar work a bit too harsh for my taste. There is nothing wrong with guitar work being harsh when it needs to fit a particular mood, but on 100 Onces Is I'm left with the impression that it's often being played harshly just for the sake of being harsh. I think it upsets the balance of what might have been a much better collection of songs. On the other side, the drumming is very well done throughout the album.

Another weakness are the three tracks that don't fit with the rest of the album: How 100 Onces Was Formed, 400 Quads, and 900 [%*!#] It. These are just goof-off pieces messing around with sounds and sound effects.

This duo has a lot of talent, but it would be interesting to hear what they would sound like if they had a bassist and keyboardist on board (or even some other instrument just for the sake of breaking up the monotony of harsh guitar riffs). Those interested in harsh-sounding guitar rock might find this interesting.